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University of Cambridge

Open: Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–5pm

We are closed on Bank Holiday Mondays.

Please note: On Wednesday 29 July the Garden Kitchen café will be operating a reduced offer due to bereavement. They will be serving drinks and cakes before closing at 1pm. We apologise for any inconvenience.

The Kettle’s Yard house will be closed on Friday 18 September as we prepare for the opening of our next exhibition.

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Open: Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–5pm

We are closed on Bank Holiday Mondays.

Please note: On Wednesday 29 July the Garden Kitchen café will be operating a reduced offer due to bereavement. They will be serving drinks and cakes before closing at 1pm. We apologise for any inconvenience.

The Kettle’s Yard house will be closed on Friday 18 September as we prepare for the opening of our next exhibition.

Brodsky Quartet

Bringing an unrivalled authority to the performance of the string quartet repertoire, since their formation in 1972 the Brodsky Quartet have performed over 3,500 concerts on the major stages of the world and have released more than 70 recordings.

Having recently celebrated their 50th anniversary, the Brodsky Quartet continue to enjoy a busy international performing schedule, extensively touring the major festivals and venues throughout Australasia, North and South America, Asia and Europe as well as in the UK, where the quartet is based. Their prominent presence on the international chamber music scene, as well as in a range of educational affiliations, has been ensured by their never-ending energy and craftsmanship, attracting numerous awards and accolades worldwide.

Shostakovich has become synonymous with the Brodsky Quartet name: their 2012 London performance of the complete string quartet cycle resulted in their taking the prestigious title ‘Artistic Associate’ at London’s Kings Place – a residency which lasted ten years, culminating in a triumphant repeat cycle of the fifteen works over two days. It therefore seems fitting that the legacy to their inimitable 50 years as a quartet has been to offer complete Shostakovich cycles around the world, allowing the full immersive experience to be accessible to all in the coming seasons.

The Brodsky Quartet have always had a busy recording career and enjoyed an exclusive and fruitful relationship with Chandos Records for many years. Releases on the label include a live recording of the complete Shostakovich cycle as well as quartets and quintets by Brahms, Elgar, Janacek, Debussy and more, with a stellar line-up of fellow musicians. Their set of the Late String Quartets of Beethoven was released in 2020 to great critical acclaim and one of their most recent releases, Homage to Bach, comprises the phenomenal premiere recordings of Bach’s three Solo Violin Sonatas arranged by Paul Cassidy. The Quartet marked their 50th anniversary with three diverse releases: the hugely celebrated Schubert Quintet with cellist Laura van der Heijden, Rocking Horse Road with long-term collaborator Jacqui Dankworth and Golden Oldies, a compendium of encores arranged by the Quartet in celebration of this milestone.

The quartet took their name from the great Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky, the dedicatee of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto and a passionate chamber musician. Krysia Osostowicz plays a violin made by Francesco Gofriller, 1720; Ian Belton’s violin is by Giovanni Paolo Maggini, c.1615. Paul Cassidy plays on a viola by Stefan-Peter Greiner, 2022, and Jacqueline Thomas’s cello is by Thomas Perry of Dublin, 1785.

Brodsky Quartet. Photo: Sarah Cresswell